The President's Daily Brief - November 25th, 2022. Railroad Strike is Imminent, Will the Biden Admin Step In?

Episode Date: November 25, 2022

It’s November 25th. You’re listening to the President’s Daily Brief. Your morning intel starts now. ------ A good day to you, ladies and gentlemen. I’ve got four briefs for you this morning that are shaping America — and the world.   First, some good news and bad news out of Ukraine. And the good news will be welcomed by farmers and ranchers around the world. Second, the Biden Administration just approved of a major expansion of an oil project in Texas. That has environmentalists very surprised — and very angry. Third, America faces a possible rail-road strike in December. I’ve got a timeline that you should be watching for to get ahead of it. Finally, two pieces of medical news — one involving Monkey Pox and the other about why COVID-19 seems to have hit black and Hispanic folks harder than others. Later, I close out the podcast with a listener question about whether the solar and wind industry is really about climate change or rather destroying capitalism — and the West.  ------ Please remember to subscribe if you enjoyed this episode of the President's Daily Brief. Email: [e-mail] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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It's November 25th. You're listening to the President's Daily Brief. I'm your host and former CIA officer Brian Dean Wright. Your morning Intel starts now. A good day to you, ladies and gentlemen. I've got four briefs for you this morning that are shaping America and the world. First, some good news and bad news out of Ukraine. And the good news will be welcomed by farmers and ranchers around the world. Second, the Biden administration just approved of a major expansion of an oil project in Texas that has environmentalists very surprised and very angry. Third, America faces a possible railroad strike in December. I've got a timeline that you should be watching for to get ahead of it. Finally, two pieces of medical news, one involving monkey pox and the other about why COVID-19 seems to have hit black and Hispanic folks harder than others.

Later, I close out the podcast with a listener question about whether the solar and wind industry is really about climate change or rather about destroying capitalism and the West. But before we get to that, we got to get started with this. Some good news and the bad news out of Ukraine. Let's tackle the bad news first. For the past week, Russia has dramatically increased its barrage of missiles and drone strikes inside of Ukraine. The targets continue to be utilitarian. systems, from power plans to substations to water treatment facilities. The strikes on Wednesday of this week knocked out about 50 to 60 percent of the country's power.

Ukraine's Ministry of Energy said that, quote, a majority of consumers are now without power this morning, end quote, putting that number at around 10 million people. Ukrainian utility workers are busy trying to repair it all, although the Ministry of Energy actually said that no sooner do they repair these systems that have been. hit that, well, Russia then blows it up. Some parts of the grid, they added, had been hit five times in the same spot. This, of course, is awful news for the Ukrainian people, no matter what your views on this war might be. It's supposed to snow tomorrow in Kiev, with temperatures down to the low 30s for the next week. And that helps explain why the Ukrainian government over the past couple of

days has actually encouraged their citizens to leave the country heading to Poland or other countries in Europe to stay warm for the winter. And with that, let's pivot to one possible sliver of good news in this mess of war. Over the past two weeks, Ukrainian and Russian officials have been secretly meeting in the Arab country of the United Arab Emirates. That's according to a report by Reuters News Service and other media outlets. The goal of these meetings was pretty narrow to hammer out a prisoner swap. So the idea is that Russia would give up some of the Ukrainian prisoners that they captured on the battlefield. And in exchange, Ukraine would allow a pipeline of Russian ammonia to be turned back on. So let me explain that. As my farmers and ranchers know, ammonia is used to

make fertilizer. And that stuff has become incredibly expensive this year, in no small part because Russia used to be a major supplier of it, but that supply has been cut short due to the war. And yet there's an ammonia pipeline that runs from Russia into Ukraine, specifically into the port city of Odessa. So with this potential prisoner swap, more could start flowing again and soon. The thought is that much of this ammonia would be sold to African and Asian trading partners, although with additional global supply buyers in the U.S., Europe and Latin America would probably benefit too. So I'll be watching for developments on this one for a lot of reasons, but this one in particular,

there is a possibility, however small and remote, that these talks could be the beginning stages of something far more important. And that, of course, is bringing this war to an end. With that, let's pivot to our second brief of the morning. The Biden administration surprised supporters and detractors alike this week when on Monday, Mr. Biden and his team approved plans to build the nation's largest oil export terminal off the Gulf Coast of Texas. It's a project that would add about 2 million barrels per day to the U.S. oil export capacity. By the way, that's according to multiple press outlets at this point to include the San Antonio Express News plus the Environmental Group Earthworks. So here's what we know about this new deal.

The new facility, which is going to be called the Seaport Oil Terminal, is going to sit about 50 miles south of Galveston, just off the coast of Freeport, Texas. There are going to be two 24-inch floating crude hoses that will load oil from the shoreline onto the world's largest tankers offshore. And to give you a sense of the power involved in pumping all of that oil, we're talking about 14 giant pumps with a combined output of 86,000 horsepower. So for what it's worth, operations should begin at some point in the year 2025. And observers are saying that it could encourage further oil drilling. and exploration in the U.S., especially in Texas and New Mexico.

Now, if this news leaves you somewhat surprised, given the Biden administration's insistence that there is no future in oil and gas, well, you're not alone. Mr. Jeffrey Jacoby, who's the deputy director of the Texas campaign for the environment, said, quote, last week the Biden administration was in Egypt,

telling the world that now is the time for climate action. but this week they're locking us into a climate-wrecking monstrosity for at least a generation. And quote, another environmentalist group called the Citizens for Clean Air and Clean Water, said, quote, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and President Joe Biden have chosen not to be climate change leaders with this horrible decision. So all and all folks, it's fair to say that this decision is pretty odd, given Mr. Biden himself has said repeatedly and for, years that we must shut down the oil and gas industry, all because of the threat of climate

change. I mean, that was the whole idea behind the hundreds of billions of dollars that he in Congress allocated back in August with this inflation reduction act. Again, it was trying to promote solar and wind, electric vehicles, and of course the batteries to power it all. I'm digging into this to understand why he's done it. If, for instance, there's a legal reason his hands were forced to do it or perhaps there was a political calculation either way i will keep you posted on this very unusual development with that ladies and gentlemen let's take a quick break and when we come back i've got two more critical pieces of news for you we'll be right back own it all pay off your home travel for life drive a ferrari in celebration of the world premiere of the monopoly big board

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First up, my friends, start the countdown. Seven days from today, America's railroad workers will begin the week-long process of shutting down the U.S. rail system. That is, of course, if no deal is reached. To refresh our memories on this bit of news, railroad companies and their workers have been unable to agree on a new contract, mostly over a disagreement regarding when workers can take time off for medical appointments. Well, some unions have agreed to the proposed deal that was offered by the Biden administration, while others voted that proposal down. And that means that all of the unions will now strike in solidarity if, of course, a deal can't be hammered out by the time that a strike would begin,

which is December 9th. But starting one week from today, rail operations will start shifting into strike preparation mode. Hazardous materials and chemicals will start their final journeys. There will be no new chemical shipments leaving rail yards starting December 5th, which, by the way, would impact about $2.8 billion worth of chemical cargo that's moved, each week in this country, and that includes for water treatment facilities that feed your kitchen sink and bathrooms and such. Well, as ever, Congress and Joe Biden could step in and force a settlement here that can do that under U.S. law. We'll see if they do, or regardless if workers strike illegally. Finally, this morning, two pieces of medical news to report to you. The first is about monkey pox,

something that we haven't talked about in a while. To refresh our memories, that virus is not normally found in central and western Africa, but has been spreading globally over the past six months or so, and mostly amongst gay and bisexual men. But the virus remains a horrible disease in Africa for both gay and straight folks alike, and treating it remains a very important goal. Now, there is a vaccine for it, but there hadn't been much studying of it before this latest outbreak. As you might remember, it was a repurposed vaccine that originally treated or prevented smallpox. but there was very little data on whether or how long it might work against Monkeypox.

And that takes us to our update. Public health officials in the United Kingdom reported on Tuesday that the Monkeypox vaccine was 78% effective in reducing severe disease. Better yet, that's after just one shot. The previous protocol said that you actually had to get two shots to get much benefit. Now, I should note that the study here was small, about 360 men in the United Kingdom. But public health officials and other countries are saying that the data there

matches what they're seeing in the United Kingdom too. So all in all, some good news, especially for our friends in Africa who, frankly, have enough to worry about. So from that good news, we go to, well, some interesting news in the fight against COVID. Researchers and doctors with the Mid-Atlantic Permanente Research Institute looked at the medical records of over 5 million. adult patients across several medical systems throughout the United States. And they found that of the 5 million patients, about 5,000 were hospitalized.

And I just want to dwell on that set of numbers for a moment. Think about this. Of 5 million people who got COVID-19 in this study, 5,000 were hospitalized. That is a hospitalization rate of 0.1%, give or take, if my math is right. So of the 5,000 that were hospitalized, about 1,500. souls died, again, of the five million who caught the virus to begin with. It's important to remind ourselves of these numbers, I think, because there has been so much fearmongering about the dangers of this virus. And what the data showed so clearly in this case is that while COVID-19 is real

and it is deadly for some, the threat is extraordinarily small. Finally, researchers found something else, quite interesting actually. Black and Hispanic people, especially men, were hospitalized and died more often than white and Asian people. The question, of course, is why? Why might that be? Well, when it comes to gender, the researchers spoke about what they know of men more generally, and that is, fellas, when we get sick, we try to just stick it out. We avoid doctors and hospitals generally as compared to the ladies. That means, though, once we get really sick, it's pretty hard to pull us back into good health. But that piece aside, and yet what about this other issue of ethnic minorities like black and Hispanic folks faring worse than others?

Well, what we have known since April of 2020 is that most people hospitalized from COVID-19 are those who are obese. And what we know about obesity rates in America match what this study has found. So according to data from the CDC, black Americans have the highest, rates of obesity in this country at about 50% of all black adults. That's followed by Hispanic adults at about 45%. Meanwhile, Asian adults have the lowest amount of obesity at about 16%. And true to the study, their hospitalization and death rates were amongst the lowest. In fact, they were the lowest. So if I might offer some analysis and opinion here, what we've known for over two years now is that when it comes to COVID, we need to acknowledge a fact that's, it's impolite, but it's true.

America has a problem with obesity. We don't have a problem with a virus, not really. And I don't celebrate that or sneer about that fact. Folks, we have all either struggled with obesity or we have loved ones who do. But instead of ignoring that problem or taking a COVID shot or a pill, I think we ought to be candid and loving with ourselves and others about what the data are really showing here. And if we did, that would help address not only this COVID issue, but a whole bunch of other health-related concerns, too. So, folks, I think it's a blunt conversation that's long overdue. And with that, my friends, we conclude your morning brief. But I've got one more thing before I let you go.

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Who knew your questionable music taste will be a money-making machine? Your style can make you cash. Start selling on Deepop, where taste recognizes taste. Welcome back to the PDB folks. I've got one more thing before I let you go. I got an email from Natalie from somewhere in America. and she said that back on October 12th, I said that the dirty green revolution of solar, wind, and batteries isn't about climate change. But rather, it's that climate change is being used as a pretext to justify bringing about leftist government to include socialism or communism.

And Natalie rightfully said, quote, that claim is a pretty big deal if it's true. It has a lot of repercussions. So, Brian, how do you know? it's true." End quote. So two things, Natalie. I continue to watch for and collect evidence of this allegation that I've made, and I'm going to convey such probably in a pretty big brief down the road. But in the meantime, I want you to consider this. There's a climate change activist named Greta Thunberg. Now, many of you have probably heard her name by now. She's been the face of climate change activism for years, starting out when she was a very young child. Now she's 18 years

of age. But to be clear, she wasn't just like an occasional face of the climate change movement. She's been the world's champion of it. Let's just remind ourselves of that. She has delivered multiple climate change speeches at the United Nations. She's been nominated twice for a Nobel Peace Prize, all because of her climate activism. She's been named as one of the world's most influential people by Time magazine. She's also won countless climate awards and millions of dollars as prizes because of it. She even got a documentary series done on her life at age 18 by the British Broadcasting Company, all of which was focused on her and the world's climate change problem, I suppose

you could say. The point here is that this child is a very important element of the climate change movement. But the unspoken part here, and this is what I want you to think about, is that she was clearly fed her beliefs about climate change. Kids just don't come up with that stuff. So taking all that into account, I want you to listen to this. Greta Thunberg has just written a book about her climate change journey. And about three weeks ago, she was delivering remarks about it in London.

And while she was there, she blasted capitalism in the West in general. Let me just read a few of the quotes that she offered up. Quote, what we refer to as normal capitalism is an extreme system built on the exploitation of people. and the planet, end quote. She went on to say that, quote, it is a system defined by colonialism, imperialism, oppression, and genocide by the so-called global north, all to accumulate wealth that still shapes our current world order, end quote. She added that, quote, we are never going back to normal again, because normal was already a crisis. The Western world is in need of a system wide transformation, end quote. So what does that sound like to you? And what is this system-wide transformation

that she wants? Does it sound like she wants to reform capitalism? Or if I could borrow a phrase from the Constitution, do you think that she just wants to make America a more perfect union? Or perhaps, perhaps she wants a revolution leading to something quite different. What that different thing might be, well, she's a little bit unclear about it. One final piece. Who gave this child these ideas about how bad Western nations might be and capitalism might be? Again, children don't just divine this stuff. She's clearly been made into a puppet to repeat these talking points.

And if she's regurgitating these talking points from her climate friends, what does that say about the climate change movement? What does it say that this is really all about? Some more to come on this, but it's just something for you all to think about over the next period of time before I do that big brief. Because I'll tell you, from my optic, and this is just my opinion, I think it's pretty clear what this climate change movement is really about. Based on these comments from Greta Thunberg and others, it's just not about climate change, is it? And that, ladies and gentlemen, concludes your morning brief. As always, we close out the show, reminding each other of why we are here, talking about our country and our world.

It's the creed of every good spy and every smart American. It's from John, Chapter 8, verse 32. And you shall know the truth. And the truth shall make you free. Good day. USAA knows dynamic duos can save the day, like superheroes and sidekicks or auto and home insurance. With USAA, you can bundle your auto. and home and save up to 10%.

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